We were an hour and a half late getting into Toronto on Sunday after PyCon: the de-icers on the first plane out of Chicago weren't working, so they had to put us on another one. Fair enough, but after we landed and taxied up to the gangway, the doors didn't open, and didn't open, and didn't open. Finally, the captain came on (clearly embarrassed) and said, "Uh, folks, I've been trying to find out why we're not able to disembark you, and apparently the rules say that, we have to get all the valet-checked bags off the plane before passengers are allowed off, so that no one will have to wait for their luggage. Thank you." <click>
You can't make stuff like this up.